Loblaws has acquired the Middle Eastern grocer Ariz Fine Foods. Loblaws says it has identified the demographic as important to its growth. It likened the acquisition to the 2009 purchase of the Chinese food chain T and T. Ariz Fine Foods has 1,050 stores. Some products from Ariz will begin to appear in Loblaws. In other business news, Canadian Tire Corp. has agreed to sell 20% of its banking business to Bank of Nova Scotia for 500 million Canadian dollars ($459 million). As part of the agreement, Scotiabank, Canada’s third-largest lender, will provide the retailer’s financial-services business with credit-card receivable financing of up to 2.25 billion Canadian dollars. The deal also gives the retailer the option to sell another 29% stake in the business to Scotiabank within 10 years.
Park-by-phone is about the re-up, portable time
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Those who suffer under the predatory parking practices of the City of Toronto are rightly suspicious that Council might really be ready to adopt a less abusive system. Toronto shovels in an enormous load of cash each year with “gotcha” parking practices that have been put in place over the years. Nearly a generation has passed since the ticket-spitting park-o-meters were installed. That piece of equipment eliminated the reasonable value offered by unelapsed time. Drivers could find (or leave behind) unelapsed time on a vacant meter. In many cities they called the new paper tickets “municipal double dipping”. More than that, the system which is still in effect today levies a punishing penalty on those who want to add to (or re-up) their time. One must buy a new ticket and forfeit the money already paid. It is surely among the most unfair collection processes known to the democratic process. Now the deputy mayor, Mr. Kelly, says a pay-by-cell-phone program will go into effect this summer at 130 parking lots. It will be in place at 18,000 Green P street spots by 2015. What this means as a total of Toronto’s parking space or if the program will extend to South Bayview or Mt. Pleasant is uncertain. But it should. And the key to a fair and civilized system will be a motorist’s freedom to re-up time when he or she wishes without penalty. And portability. Drivers must have the right to take time paid with them within reasonable circumstances. The new ParkChicago plan permits this. There will be no convenience or service provided if the park-by-phone system is as abusive as the present one.
Author, activist, naturalist Farley Mowat dead
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Mr. Mowat died at his home in Port Hope, Ontario a few days short of his 93 birthday. He wrote as many as 40 works, one, “Lost in the Barrens,” published in 1956, won the Governor General’s Award, while “The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float” won the Leacock Medal for Humour in 1970. His work was translated into 52 languages and sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. CTV
Cedar poles replace rotting concrete in Ward 22
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The march of the new cedar hydro poles in streets of Ward 22 west of Bayview goes on apace. These scenes are from Gresham Road just off Belsize Drive. The work is necessary to replace the aging concrete poles, some of which have been in place for half a century, according to Hydro workers. Five decades of road salt has had quite impact on some of these poles at the base. Workers said it has made some of the old standards quite wobbly. As we reported in recent weeks, the new poles carry the 4000-volt feeder services with the local wires underneath. That’s one reason for the 50 foot height of the poles. The poles come from what is said to be a vast supply of cedar trees grown for the purpose in forests in British Columbia. Many come from to Northeast of the Okanagan Valley an area famous for its abundant tall, straight cedar pole trees as long as 105 feet. For 13 years, selective logging has been used to harvest poles here. Some 3,500 to 5,000 poles per year are taken from this region. After treating, many are used by Ontario Hydro and Ontario Municipal Electrical Utilities. Photos: March of the new cedar giants on Gresham Road west of Bayview Ave. Below, a shot of a cedar forest. Wisey’s Pies and Bakehouse opens on Eglinton E.
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Something good seems to be happening on Eglinton Ave. E just by Laird Drive, right next door to Starbucks. We don’t have a lot of information but the motto of the yet-to-open Wiseys Pies and Bakehouse is For the Love of all that is Baked and Holy. Well, amen sister. And we do mean the nice lady smiling out at us from the Wiseys website. She speaks to future customers philosophically about how people get into their particular lines of work. And she has responded to a comment left on the new blog: “Hi Michael, Thanks for the welcome! This is just the temp blog but our official website will be glorious and live soon. We will definitely have excellent coffee (provided by the Kiwi company “Pilot Coffee” along with totally-made-with-love-and-best-ingredients genuine kiwi-inspired tasties. Look for us soon and tell all your friends! Best, Team Wiseys.” And there is a clue for we curious South Bayvewites too because the reference to Kiwi might mean that this is the beginning of an expansion of what appears to be very successful New Zealand company called Wiseys. Or, it may just mean this entrepreneur was inspired by Wiseys. We’ll keep you posted and in the meantime you can watch for the opening of Wiseys Pies and Bakehouse at 874 Eglinton Ave. E. Below is a video which appears on the site of the New Zealand Wiseys. It sounds like a very old scratchy record set to video of pie-making in Napier, NZ. We liked it.Odd case of Lt. de Jong ends in a reprimand
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| Lt. Derek de Jong |
A Canadian Navy lieutenant who was a ramrod for correct behaviour has been fined $5000 and given a severe reprimand for deserting his ship and coming home to Halifax. Lieutenant Derek de Jong, accompanied by his wife, left the court martial in Halifax this morning (Wednesday, May 7, 2014) with the praise of character witnesses that he is an asset to the navy. A senior officer said de Jong has since done “outstanding” work training hundreds of members in inventory management software. The strange case would seem to have cast a doubtful light on navy discipline and routine as well. Lieutenant de Jong’s expectations did not sit well with the rest of the officers. Court heard that a female officer sneaked into de Jong’s cabin when he was asleep, pulled down her pants and urinated on the floor. She was never reprimanded or dealt with in any way, the court martial heard. De Jong was also told he was not welcome in the ward room. He testified that he had warned against giving more than 200 crew members too much alcohol for fear it would cause disorderly intoxication. In the event, many crew went ashore and were returned by local police for various offenses. In September 2012 de Jong packed up his things while his ship was moored in Key West and flew home. He turned himself in to military police on arrival in Halifax. Altogether a very strange case.
Jewellery, cash taken in Chudleigh Ave. break-in
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TPS report — A resident of Chudleigh Avenue reports that between 5.30 and 11.30 p.m. on May 5, 2014, entry was gained into the premise by forcing the rear door. Removed was a quantity of jewellery and cash.
Torstar quarterly revenue down 7 percent
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Torstar is reporting a decline in quarterly revenue of seven percent for the period ending March 31, 2014. Reuters calls it a function of the “grim print advertising market”. Torstar’s most important asset, the The Toronto Star, has tried to make up for lost print advertising by charging users for access to the online version but this tactic is fraught with the potential for fewer so-called unique users online, the standard by which online advertisers are solicited. Operating revenue from Torstar’s media business fell to C$211.3 million from C$229.8 million, while total sales slipped 7 percent to C$292.4 million. Harlequin sold
Doug Ford: Tactical mischief or burning ambition?
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Doug Ford has refused to deny that he might run for mayor if for some reason his brother drops out of the race. Doug Ford who at 49 is the eldest brother to the mayor sits as the Councillor in Ward 2. He has already said that he does not intend to stand for re-election in that post. Today he replied ‘No comment’ when asked if he would run for mayor. This in the context of speculation by Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti who said earlier that Doug Ford was “thinking about it’. No one seems to know whether this is some sort of tactical mischief on the part of Mr. Ford. He has always been the back-room quarterback for his brother. And he has never lacked for strategies. Councillor Jaye Robinson told the Sun “there is a rumour that Doug Ford is thinking about running for mayor”. She said she’s heard it “more than once.” “I’m sure he’s waiting to see how his brother fares because he is trying to go through a process of dealing with his illness,” Robinson said. “I think he’s actually genuinely thinking about the prospects for him to fill the Ford Nation void. Clearly there is a void now, there is an opportunity and I think he is definitely considering it.” Robinson – who has clashed with Ford publicly – said he won’t have her support if he runs for mayor. Also at city hall, Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong confirmed he’d spoken with Mayor Ford at the unknown location where is said to be in re-hab. Minnan-Wong would give no details. “I asked him how he was and said that a lot of people are hoping he gets better and he asked what was going on at council and I said that some councillors were trying to undermine our contracting out initiatives and I think he wanted to come back to defend that decision,” said Minnan-Wong. Cops warn of sex offender near Bayview-Pottery
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Police have warned residents about a possible sex offender seen on a pathway near Bayview Extension and Pottery Road. This incident happened yesterday (Monday, May 5, 2014) about 3 p.m. when a woman jogger was confronted by a man performing an indecent act. He apparently followed the woman for a short distance, gesturing for her to speak with him and then fled when she called police. He is described as having a tanned complexion, 20-25, 5’9″, with a thin build, and short brown hair. He was wearing a black baseball cap, baggy grey hoodie, blue jeans, and black skateboard shoes with lime-green soles. He was carrying a beige duffle bag. Police remind the public to remain vigilant while using the pathways in this area.Target CEO out over Canada mess, data breach
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| Gregg Steinhafel |
Well, somebody had to pay for all those empty shelves over at the Target store in the East York Town Centre. That South Bayvview store was but a microcosm of the huge re-supply issues Target has had in trying to get its Canadian adventure going. That and the massive data breach of customer information last December have led to the “voluntary” departure of Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel. The 59-year-old Steinhafel started as a merchandising clerk with Target in 1979 and made a career with the big retailer. He will receive $55 million dollars severance, and if that doesn’t make you gasp, the company lost a billion dollars U.S. last year. Of course, Steinhafel had many successful years at the top with Target and clearly made them a lot of money. But no tag days for Gregg. He collected $64.3 million in total compensation between 2010 and 2014, according to the company’s latest compensation-related regulatory filings. That’s above the nearly $7 million he accumulated in base salary and bonuses in that same period of time
Bayer wins Merck consumer unit for US$14 billion
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Germany’s Bayer AG has trumped rival bidders for Merck & Co Inc’s consumer care business in a $14.2 billion deal, adding to a string of major cross-border deals in the healthcare industry. Reuters